STORMY CONDITIONS FOR SECOND FIXTURE WHICH SAW CAMBRIDGE RACE ‘BROOKES’
CUWBC’s second fixture of The 2020 Boat Race season took place on Sunday. This fixture provided both strong opposition and dramatic conditions. We would like to thank the crews from Brookes for some tough racing. The racing delivered invaluable learning experience for our crews in preparation for the 2020 Women’s Boat Race on the 29th March.
The Blue Boat raced Brookes I, the Reserve Crew, ‘Blondie’ faced Brookes II and the Lightweights raced Brookes III respectively in an eventful morning of racing. The fixture was brought forward from the afternoon to the morning, due to very challenging conditions.
Blue Boat vs Brookes I.
Cambridge won the toss and choose the Surrey station. This first piece took place from The Boat Race finish to Chiswick steps, which represented excellent preparation for both crews ahead of the upcoming Women’s Head of the River on 7th March. The crews were aligned by our Chief Coach Robert Weber. Women’s Boat Race Umpire, Judith Packer, saw both crews off to a strong start. Brookes, under the tutelage of ex-CUBC Assistant Coach Richard Chambers, made the most of the advantage from the Middlesex bend and took an early one length lead in the first few minutes.
Both crews were warned coming into Barnes Bridge, after which the Brookes crew pushed on to take clear water over the Light Blues. By the Bandstand there was significant wash from passing river traffic, which created challenging conditions for both crews. The final verdict at Chiswick steps was 4 lengths to Brookes.
The second race was a rolling start with both crews level for the first minute, as the crews passed Hammersmith Bridge, Brookes were able to extend their lead on the outside of the Surrey bend. The Brookes women continued to extend their lead until the finish line at the Black Buoy.
Blondie vs Brookes II
Blondie, won the toss and chose the Middlesex station for the first piece. Brookes held Blondie around the outside of the first bend with only a few warnings from the umpire. Both crews battled intensely coming past the bandstand, Brookes finished with a marginal win of half a length.
Again, the crews started the second piece with a rolling start. At this point the Brookes had the advantage of the inside of the Surrey bend. By St. Paul’s they moved out to a one length lead and were able to extend this lead from Hammersmith Bridge to the finish line at the Black Buoy.
Lightweights vs Brookes III.
This race proved to be the most exciting and closest race of the morning. For the first piece, Cambridge won the toss and choose the Middlesex station. Brookes held Cambridge well around the outside of the bend and were able to stay level. Brookes were half a length up when both crews were warned by the umpire. Clashing meant that the race then had to be restarted. Following the restart, the piece finished with Cambridge wining with a slight lead over Brookes.
The second piece for the again proved to be an exciting race with both crews battling for the lead throughout. Clashing again, outside Fulham Football Club stopped both boats progress but once moving again the final inside of the Fulham bend gave the lightweight crew the advantage to finally come away with a half-length win.
Weekends on the Tideway would not be possible without our generous hosts Thames Rowing Club . We love having a ‘home away from home’ in Putney.
The Lightweight Boat Race will take place on The Championship Course for the first time on Sunday 15th March and the Open-Weight Boat Race will take place on Sunday 29th March.
The crews racing contain representatives from 16 different colleges. To find out more details about our squad go to our 2020 Squad Page.
Blue Boat | College | ‘Blondie’ | College |
Particia Smith (Bow) | Christ’s | Catherine King (Bow) | Gonville & Caius |
Sarah Portsmouth | Gloria Jansen | Lucy Cavendish | |
Bronya Sykes | Gonville & Caius | Georgie Archer | Trinity |
Larkin Sayre | Emmanuel | Emily McHarg | Newnham |
Anouschka Fenley | Lucy Cavendish | Elena von Mueller | Jesus |
Sophie Paine | Wolfson | Adriana Perez Rotondo | Newnham |
Abba Parker | Emmanuel | Rebecca Dell | Christ’s |
Caoimhe Dempsey | Newnham | Gemma King | St John’s |
Angela Harper (Cox) | Churchill | Dylan Whitaker (Cox) | Kings |
Lightweight Women’s Crew | College |
Florence Alexander | Sidney Sussex |
Catherine Walker | Gonville & Caius |
Miranda Clements | Hughes Hall |
Regan Hamel | St Edmund’s |
Billie Meadowcroft | Queens’ |
Morgan Morrison | Homerton |
Freya Sutcliffe | Jesus |
Yfke van der Heijden | Girton |
Emily Insanally (Cox) | Fitzwilliam |
ABOUT CUWBC
Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club and Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club are high performance student rowing clubs working together to support the sporting and academic ambitions of the team. The squad of young women and men train together within a supportive and challenging environment overseen by Chief Coach Robert Weber. The dynamic and positive team culture has been built by the many women and men who have represented CUWBC and CULRC over the previous 90 years.
75th Women’s and 46th Lightweight Men’s Boat Races in 2020